This new program combines the strengths of our general residency training program, our child-adolescent fellowship and the superior research opportunities into a cohesive educational experience. The goal of the “Integrated” program is to strongly support the development of highly qualified applicants to become child and adolescent psychiatry academics. The trainee is based mostly in General Psychiatry for the first 4 years and in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/IJR for the last 2 years.

The Integrated Program is a 6-year residency which includes all requirements for General and Child and Adolescent residencies as well as offering considerable clinical research and/or education time. Given that the ACGME requirements for both residencies allows for up to 12 months of specific training to be double counted when the trainee is designated as a child resident throughout their training, that certain general psychiatry requirements can be met during the child and adolescent residency (forensic, community and addiction requirements), and that the program is 6 years, we are able to offer trainees between 18 and 22 months of research time. This research time begins in the second year forward with the greatest percentage in the 5th and 6th years.

Ongoing projects in the department can be found by accessing individual Principal Investigators webpages, and include studies in autism, ADHD, anxiety disorders, disruptive behaviors, trauma, community mental health, school systems, genetics, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, epidemiology, and neuroimaging. Upon completion of the integrated residency many residents will go on to research fellowships or faculty positions. Participants meet regularly with mentor faculty or Suma Jacob, MD, PhD, a graduate of the UIC child psychiatry research track. Research supervision will focus on generating pilot data, research methodological issues, manuscript preparation, balancing clinical and research responsibilities, and applying for NIH loan repayment.